May 2016
Dear students and parents,
It’s that time of year again when Holy Family parish gratefully thanks those students who have faithfully served as altar servers throughout the year AND cordially invites them and new students to join this time-honored and important ministry for 2016-2017. While Holy Family has been blessed with many dedicated altar servers, we hope to increase the size of the ministry this year.
Requirements Needed to Serve
Servers must have made their First Holy Communion and either be a parishioner at Holy Family Cathedral OR a student at Holy Family Cathedral School.
Servers should be mature enough to understand their responsibilities and carry them out well and with appropriate reverence. Consequently, we invite incoming 6th grade or older students to participate in this ministry.
New servers will receive proper formation before they begin. Altar server training is mandatory and is scheduled during summertime.
Part of an altar server’s role is to bring the assembly to a fuller understanding of the liturgy and so to a greater love for God. Altar servers do this through the actions they perform and by the way in which they perform them. Their behavior can be an expression of their faith and their love for God and for God’s people.
Saint John Paul II once addressed a gathering of young altar servers in Rome, and said, “… you are much more than simple ‘helpers of the parish priest’. Above all, you are servers of Jesus Christ… You, altar servers, are called in particular to be young friends of Jesus. Be determined to go deeper and to cultivate this friendship with Him. You will discover that in Jesus you have found a true friend for life.”
Returning and New Altar Servers
Please consider returning or enrolling for the first time in this honorable ministry by filling out the attached Altar Server Family Agreement Form for 2016-2017.
Retiring Altar Servers
If you are currently a server that is no longer able to serve, please fill out the top portion of the form and indicate that you will be retiring. Thank you for your service. We appreciate your dedication to this ministry. May God continue to bless you and your family.
If you have any questions, please contact me at
God bless,
Sandra Rivera
ALTAR SERVER FAMILY AGREEMENT FOR 2016-2017
NAME #1[ ] New, [ ] Returning, [ ] Retiring
NAME #2[ ] New, [ ] Returning, [ ] Retiring
NAME #3[ ] New, [ ] Returning, [ ] Retiring
NAME #4[ ] New, [ ] Returning, [ ] Retiring
If other members of your family also serve at Mass, please supply their names and ministries they serve below:
PRIMARY CONTACT INFORMATION:[ ] MOTHER [ ] FATHER
NAME
PHONE ______EMAIL ADDRESS
SECONDARY CONTACT INFORMATION: [ ] MOTHER [ ] FATHER [ ] STUDENT
NAME
PHONE ______EMAIL ADDRESS
ALTAR SERVER INFORMATION FOR 2016-2017 SCHOOL YEAR: This information is necessary for scheduling weekday masses.
NameGrade Student Will EnterSchool Student Will Attend
#1:
#2:
#3:
#4:
SUNDAY MASS PREFERENCES: Please mark your first andsecondchoices for serving Sunday Mass by marking the spaces with a 1 and 2, not a check mark or X:
Name 4 pm (Saturday) 6:45 am 8:00 am 9:30 am 11:15 am 5:00 pm
#1:
#2:
#3:
#4:
ALTAR SERVER RESPONSIBILITIES
- Serving a Sunday Mass once or twice each month. However, based on Mass preference, this may vary.
- For Holy Family Cathedral School Students…
Serving one weekday school Mass every 3 to 4 weeks; OR
For Students Attending Other Schools…
Servingone Saturday morning (8:15 a.m.) Mass every 5 to 6 weeks.
- Always serving your assigned Mass OR arranging for a substitute.
- Abiding by the Altar Server’s handbook regarding dress, hair and attitude.
- Serving when asked, if at all possible.
Altar servers are periodically invited to serve weddings and funerals. Accepting these opportunities is strongly encouraged, but not mandatory.
NEW SERVER TRAINING
All new servers are scheduled for one week of training during late June, July, or early August. The training over five consecutive days begins on a Monday and continues through the following Saturday. The new servers begin training in the morning before the 8:15 a.m. daily Mass, then practice while serving the Mass. They are picked up promptly after Mass, around 8:50 a.m.
If you have special considerations for summertime scheduling, please let us know when you return this Agreement form. This includes information about when you will or will not be available for training.
Also, if there is an older brother or sister that is an experienced server who would like to volunteer and help train during your younger child’s training week, we would very much appreciate it.
DATES NOT AVAILABLE for training: ______
Please return this completed form by
MAY 26th
to the School OfficeOR to the Cathedral Parish OfficeOR
to my email at